THE SUN AND YOUR HEALTH
by Dr. Lawrence Wilson
© December 2020, L.D. Wilson Consultants, Inc.
All information in this article is for educational
purposes only. It is not for the
diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.
This article discusses vitamin D, sunbathing, suntan lotions, sunburn,
sunglasses, tanning beds, sungazing, and the sun as a nutrient.
VITAMIN
D
The most important
point of this article is that the sun today cannot be counted upon to provide
enough vitamin D for anyone, no matter where you live and no matter how much
time you spend in the sun. As a
result, everyone over age 5 or so needs EITHER:
1. A vitamin D
supplement (about 5000 iu daily for adults and less for children) OR
2. Eat 3-4 cans of
sardines weekly for adults, and somewhat less for children. I do not
suggest eating more than four 4-ounce cans of sardines weekly.
Other notes
on vitamin D.
1. Do not take both the vitamin D supplement and the sardines. It is too much vitamin D. Do one or the other.
2. Children under age 5 or so usually do not need extra vitamin D from
either a supplement or from sardines.
However, some sardines are fine for a young child.
3. One could eat salmon or tunafish to provide vitamin D. However, I do not recommend these fish
because they contain too much mercury.
Sardines are much better.
4. Any brand of sardines is fine.
Boneless sardines have the least mercury, and I think they are the best
for this reason.
5. Raw dairy products contain some vitamin D, but the amount is
variable, so I would not trust this source of vitamin D.
6. Vitamin D supplements are either made from fish oil, or another good
one is made from lanolin. This is
an oily substance in the skin of sheep and some other animals. Removing some lanolin does not harm the
animal at all. Rarely, if a person
cannot take these, there is a prescription form of vitamin D, called vitamin
D2. It is not nearly as good as
standard, natural vitamin D, also called vitamin D3. However, it will help prevent cancer, diabetes and a host of
other health problems.
7. Recently, I have found that some brands of vitamin D supplements are
not working well enough, even if the vitamin D blood test indicates it
does. I would avoid the emulsified
vitamin D supplements. I suggest
the Endomet brand (from lanolin).
SUN
TANNING
We do not recommend spending more than about half an hour in the sun
per day. The dangers of tanning,
especially using tanning beds, include skin cancers, burning of the skin or
keratoses, aging of the skin, dehydration, cataracts if you look at the sun,
and more.
If you wish to be outside on the beach, for example, bring an umbrella
or at least a very large hat and keep the body covered up so that the sun does
not just strike the skin for more than about half an hour. The time you spend in the water, and
walking to and from the water, is plenty of sun for most people. This is all the more true if you are
fair-skinned. Dark-skinned people
can spend a little more time in the sun safely, but not more than one hour.
Also, try to avoid going to the beach at the height of the day. The sun is much stronger at that
time. Try to go earlier in the
morning or later in the afternoon.
For example, if you go at 9 AM, you can probably safely spend an hour in
the sun, but no more.
Using a near
infrared light sauna, by the way, is nothing like tanning. It does
not cause a tan because the lamps do not produce much ultraviolet rays, and
those it produces are supposed to be filtered out by the reddish coloring of
the glass or coating on the bulb.
This is just one reason I only recommend the reddish heat lamps at this
time. After a lamp sauna session,
the skin may become reddened for about an hour or so. However, this is not a suntan and it goes away quickly. It is possible to burn the skin, but
difficult to do, with a lamp sauna.
Appropriate
clothing for outdoors. For modesty and safety, we recommend avoiding
sleeveless tops. Also, for
protection against too much sun, tops with sleeves cover up your shoulders and
protect against the sun. We also
recommend long pants for women.
SUN
TAN LOTIONS AND CREAMS
Most of these should be avoided.
Most of these lotions and creams are horrible concoctions of artificial
chemical odors, chemical UV blockers, and plenty of additives and
preservatives. They are almost as
dangerous as getting a sun burn, and maybe worse if you use them often.
The latest
horror in sun tanning lotions and creams
is to use nano-particles of zinc or titanium in sun tan lotions. These are ALL TOXIC. Please stay away from all sun tan
lotions, as they all are going to this Òlatest, greatest technologyÓ. The problem is the nano-particles,
which just means very small, are much more easily absorbed into the body
through the skin, and go to the liver and elsewhere causing toxicity to one
degree or another.
Sun tanning
lotions can be worse than sun exposure without the lotion. They can contribute to cancer, wreck
havoc with your hormones, and disrupt your thyroid gland, according to medical
studies.
If you need a sun tanning lotion or cream, the simplest is a little
plain old zinc oxide ointment from the drugstore. It is greasy, so it stays on the skin well, even if you go
swimming. It might be good for a
child who is playing sports out of doors, for example, on the nose and face, or
if you will be out on a boat, for example, where there is very little
protection from the sun. Be sure
to wear long sleeves and long pants in these situations, however, as the sun
exposure can be intense.
SUNGAZING
Some
people recommend this as a healing method. In our experience, it does not work and the concentrated
sunshine in your eyes can contribute to cancer. Avoid sungazing.
IF
YOU MUST BE OUT IN THE SUN FOR A LONG TIME
Studies indicate that vitamin A, also called pre-formed vitamin A, and
not beta carotene, can help reduce the damage from sun exposure. One must take a lot, however, about
50,000 iu daily for a few days before your sun exposure. This might be a wise idea if, for example,
you are going on a vacation to a warm place and you know you will be outdoors
and perhaps not totally in control of your schedule.
Fifty
thousand units daily is a lot of vitamin A, and one can overdo on this vitamin!
Particularly if you are pregnant, not only should you avoid
the sun for more than half an hour daily, but you should also limit vitamin A
intake from any source to about 20,000 iu daily. Too much can cause birth defects.
Vitamin A is
also found naturally in foods. These include fish oils, raw dairy products, meats,
and eggs. Dark green and other
colored vegetables also contain carotenes. These are pigments that the body may be able to convert into
vitamin A, although many people cannot convert them well enough, so do not
count on vegetables and fruits to obtain vitamin A.
In all cases,
however, an excellent diet with mostly cooked vegetables, not raw ones, will
help protect you a little from sun damage, and enable the body to recover
better.
IF
YOU GET A SUNBURN
If you are out too long in the sun, vitamin A is helpful to heal the
skin, as is aloe vera gel, which is applied directly to the area and some can
be taken internally as well.
Before drinking or eating some, however, take a little taste. Some brands will be okay. Others will be very bitter and cannot
be taken by mouth. The bitter type
is better on the skin, by the way, than the non-bitter ones. The bitter taste comes from a substance
in the outer part of the pulp of the plant that is designed to keep insects and
other pests from eating the plant.
It works, if you have ever tried eating the outer part of the pulp!
To reverse some sun damage, daily sessions in a near infrared lamp
sauna – not other types of saunas such as FIR or far infrared – may
also help. A nutritional balancing
program includes this procedures, along with others that may help as well. To read more about this, read Introduction To Nutritional Balancing Science.
SUNGLASSES
– SHOULD YOU WEAR THEM?
The answer is generally, NO.
First, you should not need them if you are staying out of the direct
sun. Secondly, they block
important light rays from reaching the eyes, so they are not advisable –
none of them! Third, if you eat
correctly and get plenty of vitamin A, D, E, zinc, selenium and anti-oxidants in your diet,
your eyes will become less sensitive to the sun. In other words, if your eyes are very sensitive to the sun,
or too dry, or form tears too easily, you are probably malnourished and out of
balance, and perhaps have a very toxic liver – and need a nutritional
balancing program.
In a few cases, such as when driving on a very sunny day for hours,
your eyes may become tired from sun exposure. In this case, a pair of sunglasses can be used, but only
when needed. Other situations
would be if you are outside in the snow, such as skiing or ice-skating. These are both dangerous sports and not
recommended at all. However, the
glare of the sun on the snow and ice may require sunglasses in such situations. Another possible situation is if you
are out on a boat on a lake, for example, for hours, the glare of the sun can
also be intense. Definitely wear a
hat and long sleeves, and some people may need sun glasses in this situation as
well. If possible, avoid these
situations.
SKIN
CANCERS
There is rarely a need for any surgery or even biopsies if you think
you may have skin cancers.
Instead, at the first indication, such as an ulcerated lesion on the
skin that is not healing, or a dark mole, or a mole that is turning darker or
developing a ridge around the edge, immediately take action.
Two remedies that I am aware of that both work well are:
1. The
eggplant cure. This is a product called Curaderm
BEC5. This is not a prescription
drug at this time, and should not be!
It is not toxic at all, but is able to get rid of many skin
cancers. If you skin lesion is not
cancer, it may still work to remove it.
It is an eggplant extract that, I am told, has been used successfully in
over 80,000 cases.
2. Black salve. This is
an ancient Native American remedy that contains bloodroot and a few other
herbs. It is quite an amazing
remedy for skin cancers of all types, and some pre-cancerous and fungal skin
problems as well. It can even be
taken internally for cancer with a lot of effectiveness, in some cases. Only take a pea-sized piece by mouth
once a week, at the most, as it is irritating to the stomach.
Every household should have some black salve, and you should check each
otherÕs skin once a year, or so, removing any and all suspicious moles or other
lesions. Not only will you become
more beautiful, but you will completely avoid the unnecessary and sometimes
disfiguring surgery that often occurs with skin cancer if you go to a medical
doctor for it.
TANNING
BEDS
Please do not use these.
There is much more skin cancer today due to the use of tanning
beds. I know they make one look
sexy, but they expose a person to even more concentrated ultraviolet rays than
sitting in the sun, at times.
THE
SUN AS A NUTRIENT
In fact, vitamin D is not the only reason people spend time in the
sun. The sun has a relaxing,
warming effect on the body that many people enjoy. It also soothes many skin ailments, and can kill some of
them. In former years, for
example, the accepted treatment for tuberculosis was to spend time in a sanitarium,
which was a hotel-like place where the guests were required to spend time in
the sun with just a little bathing suit on, each and every day. Over time, the lungs would heal, when
the sunbathing was combined with a healthful diet and healthful drinking water,
and a low-stress life. No doubt,
the extra vitamin D helped.
However, other frequencies from the sun such as infrared and many
others, may have helped as well.
This is a topic of research and beyond the scope of this short article.
To use the sun as a nutrient, spend up to 30 minutes, and not more, in
the sun on sunny days. This is all
you need to do today. Do not ever
spend hours in the sun, as the damage far outweighs the benefits.
Sunning the
eyes. In fact, a little sun in the eyes is also very good. This is one reason not to wear
sunglasses, which are not recommended.
A standard eye exercise which is part of the Bates Method of vision care is to sun the eyes. The way to do this is to sit or stand
comfortably, close your eyes, and then look at the sun. This is usually perfectly safe. Then slowly move your head back and
forth so that the sun reaches into all parts of the eyes. You can usually feel this on the eyes,
and it feels soothing and healing.
Do this for no more than 15 minutes or so, a few times a week. It may help strengthen and heal the
eyes. It is not, however, a
substitute for proper diet, proper drinking water and the other methods of
healing the body discussed on this website. However, it can help.
So do not be afraid of the sun, but use caution.
For more information about skin diseases, read Skin
Conditions on this website.
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